Stricken Chaos Dwarf

This is my first fantasy model in a long time, I've been painting nothing but modern and sci-fi models since sometime last year. But know I've decided to paint up at least one fantasy model every month.

The first one is the Stricken Dwarf from Admiralty Miniatures. The scale mail and curly beard makes him fit nicely with the old Perry Twin big hats. This guy is missing his hat, because he has lost his honor.

This model is part of a four model set all cast in resin. The details are really crisp and it was a joy to paint, really quick. Base coated with a red primer, one layer of base colours and then quick shade varnish.

This is the first dwarf of a new Frostgrave Chaos Dwarf Warband. Scale mail, hand weapon and shield, he's a 80 gold coin men-at-arms.

Devil's Run: Hauls Angels

The Hauls Angels is one of the two factions in the original Devil's Run: Route 666 by Wordforge Games. I like the official resin models a lot, their bikes are especially cool. They have a neat old school biker gang vibe to them.

I've gone for a red colour scheme with added skull symbols to the larger areas. Some of these models I did for the beta version of game, before getting the kickstarter.

Homemade Car
This car is made with a hotwheels car. Picked it due to the cool motor sticking out of the hood. The spikes on the roof is pick axes from old Games Workshop plastic chaos marauders. The crew inside is from the nice 20mm apoc conversion set by Ramshackle Games. Mesh in the back window in from the local hardware store and the armor plating is just a random piece of plastic I found.

Trukk! 
The Haul's Angels don't have a trukk in the game, but I'm just using my Skinners cards for it. I want a behemoth for all my gangs. Trukks are described as ramshackle vehicles made from lots of different cars. So this thing is build from three different cars I cut up with a hacksaw.
The armor plasting is made from currogated plastic that comes in chocolate packages. The exhaust pipe is made from a lollipop stick I bend with some candle light heat.
Spikes from warhammer pickaxes. Driver, passenger and gunner from Ramshackle Games.

Buggy and resin car
Buggies are awesome in Devil's Run. This little thing is made from a Kinder Surprise gokart. Added some metal mesh and a roll cage from thing plastic rod. The minigun  and driver are a Ramshackle Games bits.

The car (a gasser) is an official resin model from Wordforge Games. It's a really nice piece. No conversions added to this one.

Bikes and Trike
Lovely little models from Wordforge Games. The skinner bikes and trike have a ton of detail. I really don't like painting models this small, with that many details. But the results are cool and the models are rock n roll.

The entire gang 

The Walking Dead: Dale's RV

There's a few different RVs on the market. I ordered the MDF Atlanta RV from TTCombat back when my Walking Dead Wave 1 was delivered. At that time there was a few different options, now there's also an official model from Mantic Games. I would still have gone for the TTCombat one for a couple reasons:

• TTCombat has the cheapest RV. Cheaper than Mantic Games and a lot cheaper than Pat's Laser Cutting. 
• The size is really nice, as it's more than a Line of Sight blocker. There's lots of room inside, perfect for scenarios. There's a size comparison with the cardboard token at the end of this page.

I painted the RV with a white spray basecoat and then some brown panel details, I think this is the colours used in the comic as well. 

I've not done much to the interior. I considered adding furniture, but I really like the space inside. I might at some carpets at some point, when I find the right fabric for it.

The entire model has had a wash of watered down Strong Tone (not the quick shade varnish). The mud is made mixing used coffee grounds, wood glue and brown acrylic paint.

I magnetised the door, so it won't fall out and can stay in an opened position.

The RV also comes with a rolled out canopy, but I decided not to add it. In a survival situation I would never roll something like that out, in fear of damaging my vehicle if I had to leave quickly. Also I want the RV in a state where I can use it for scenarios where it's driving.

Having made it to Atlanta the Survivors Dale, Andrea and Amy are taking an uneasy break.

An example of the magnetized door.

Andrea desperately trying to protect her little sister as Walkers swarm inside theRV.

This clearly shows the best thing about this RV model. You can place two 25mm based models side-by-side in the model. And there's to choke points in the RV where there's only room for one model. This makes it great as a gaming piece and perfect for scenarios.

Size comparison 
The TTCombat RV is a lot bigger than the cardboard token. It's the same size in width, but it's a far amount longer.

The Walking Dead: Walkers Wave 1

The Walkers were a joy to paint, really easy to do. I went with a 'Necrotic Flesh' basecoat from Army Painter. The Kickstarter box came with a bit of dublicate models, so I've tried to go for very different colours on those miniatures. Also gave some of the dublicates some hot water treatment, to try and change the pose on their arms. Minimum work in order to make the different.

Unlike my Wave 1 Survivors, I've put blood splatter on most of the Walker bases. All blood is done with Games Workshops 'Blood for the Blood God' effect paint. It looks a lot better in real life.

All these Walkers were photographed before I build my light box.

Painted up the Ronnie Renton walker in a Mantic shirt. The guy on the left is based on a good friend of mine, he has the same cap and leather vest. 

In most of my game systems I try to make at least one 'The Watchmen' smiley. The iconic badge worn by the Comedian with a bit of blood over the one eye. Walker Reggie and Waler Shane are both painted in the same colours as their Survivor counter parts.

 The police officer walker is rocking the same uniform colours as both Rick Grimes and Shane.
 

 

A shot of some walkers with details on their backs. 

 

The Herd size Wave 1. Thirty two bloody shambling corpses.

The Walking Dead: Survivors Wave 1

The complete collection of wave 1 survivors from the Kickstarter Edition of the game, as well as the retail exclusives. The photos were taken before I got my light box setup and that shows.

The Grimes
Colours on the Grimes are based on a comic cover, except Rick. Rick I've painted in the same colours as I've used on my Law model in Devils Run.

 

Scavengers

I actually like this gang a lot. But they were in the comics for only a single issue before being gunned down in front of Alexandria. Gave Liam a denims and leather look. I know a lot of heavy metal listening roleplayers thinking themselves ready for the zombie apocalypse - they would get eaten right away.

 

Brian Blake and Reggie

Brian Blake before he became The Governor is from the Prelude to Woodbury set. Reggie is a nice character to make, a cool bad buy model (despite him dying on page 1, issue 1). 

 

Dale, Andrea and Amy

A lovely little trio of miniatures. Amy is the first pink I've ever painted.  

 Shane, Jim, Sophia and Carol
Painted Shane in the same uniform colours as Rick Grimes. The 'POLICE' on his cap was a pain to paint, but adds a lot to the model. Jims cap wasn't much better, I tried to make the 'CAT' logo that he has in the comics.

 

Allen and Donna

Husband and wife. Not seeing much action on the table, but it's a nice couple of miniatures.

 

Negan and Craig

Craig's not named in the comic, part of a small child molesting gang. They quickly died. I'm really pleased with the way his camo paints turned out. Negan is Negan - super cool and with a nice pose.  

 

Abraham Ford and Michonne

Both the models are Kickstarter Exclussive sculpts. Never really gave much for that 'KSE' stamp, but it's some super cool models. Michonnes colour scheme is based on a colour cover of the comic. 

 

Rick on horse

This model was the absolute worst of all the models to paint. Don't really know why that was, just really didn't like painting it. But horses play a big part in the comics and I like the finished model. Perhaps it'll see use in some scenarios, not in regular games.

 

Morgan and Duane

A nice little father and son duo. The Duane sculpt I found was the worst of the wave 1 miniatures. Especially the head didn't have as clear details as the other miniatures in wave 1.

Deadzone: Marauders WIP and more sci-fi bases

This month as part of 'Pledge, Paint or Pay!' I'm building my Marauders for Deadzone. A mix of old metal and restic miniatures.

I love the modern military look on these guys and a going for a brown/tan/desert camo look on them.

I got this team as part of the 'all strike teams starter' add-on. But Mantic was missing a few miniatures, so they put in extras of others. Going for a 'one of each' system for all strike teams I needed to do some converting.

It's been a while since I've converted and worked with greenstuff, as all my time has gone towards painting as much stuff as possible.

 Am always surprised at how much a basecoat does to a converted miniature.

Skyscraber
The skyscraber model came with options of doing a merc Leader or a regular Skyscraber trooper. Using a restic commando, a metal hammerfist dropsuit jump pack (forge father) and the scyscraber second metal head I made this (guy on the left).

Commando with combat shotgun (rifle)
I only got two different poses for the Commando Troops. But needing three troops, I wanted to make a third pose. Using the combat shotgun (rifle) from the skyscraber bits and cutting up a restic model I made this one.
 

Goblin reposed
The restic goblins come in two poses. One is a cool kneeling goblin, the other has a weird frightened jumping pose. Using some hot water, I tried to repose him looking running instead.

Commando with heavy machine gun
Commandos can have two different heavy weapon upgrades. Flamethrower and HMG. Converted this HMG Specialist by hot water bending the commandos arms and adding a Plague Stage 3a HMG bit. I also reposed the head, to make him look in the direction he's holding the gun.

More sci-fi bases 
And 2,5 hours of work, including breaks and clean up gave nme a new set of bases. This should pretty much see me through all m Ver-Myn that's getting build and painted in May. A tutorial on how I'm doing my bases can be seen here.

Tutorial: Industrial Crane

I love Mantic Games Battlezone terrain. The tile system is brilliant, easy to build good looking stuff and it's fairly cheap.

Back when I started Deadzone, I ordered myself a single Sci-fi Urban District - and set the challenge to make the most of it! The entire trick to this build is sprue - best free hobby material in the world.

This crane is a favourite of mine and is seeing action in Deadzone, Necromunda and Scrappers.

Materials: 

• Battlezone tiles
• Old necklace
• Miliput and play-doh
• Plastic sprue
• Adhessive sticker paper - printet with logos
• Screws
• Metal net
• Tools: Hobbyknife, clipper
• Glue: Plastic glue and super glue.

The Build

Step 1:
Made a single 3'' cube from battlezone tiles. Then cut out some long pieces of sprue, I went for 9'' pieces. When preparing sprue I go for pieces with as many injection dots on them as possible. It'll end up looking like bolt, screw etc later. Also cut your sprue uneven, by chipping away pieces of it.

Step 2: 
I always glue my battlezone stuff together. Think of a cool design and make it permanent with glue. I don't find the modular system with clips really work well enough.

Step 3:
Strengthen the build with cross beams of sprue. I also added a small battlezone half tile platform. It's important to add some high detail stuff to 'sprue builds', it'll make it look expensive.

Step 4:
The elevator platform is made from a (just short off) 3'' square with metal mesh. Metal mesh is a great material and you'll get a lof for cheap at the hardware store. I glued sprue to both sides of the net, use lots of super glue. Cut a hole in the middle of the net. 

Step 5:
For the roof of the crane I've used a hardplastic tile. Give it all some extra stability. Glue a bolt to the tile, this is for the elevator chain. Use lots of superglue again, this thing will carry some weight. Do the same with a bolt on the floor of the elevator.

Step 6:
When I visit a charity shop, second hand store or yardsale I always pick up old necklaces. It's cheaper than buying hobby chain for the craft store and it's great for so many builds.

It was a bit fiddly to get this to work. The elevator mesh plkatform is actually glued onto the side of the tower. When glueing the chain in place, you have to hold it, cover it in superglue, sacrifice you fingers and wait. The chain ain't loose in this build, it's made solid from a lot of super glue.

Step 7:
Build the arm of the crane. Same way as the tower itself. This is made from 6'' pieces of sprue. I've added some extra small pieces of sprue on the top, it'll make it much easier to balance models on the top.

Step 8: 
Use another chain to make the crane. Originally I would have used some plastic hooks that was in some of my wifes new clothes, build then I found an old 40k Defiler craw and chopped that into a crane hook. Also found some other bits for the wrench - I think they're from some tank. But you could easily use another bolt or screw for this part.

 Step 9:
I wanted a platform at the base of the crane, but didn't have enough half tiles from the battlezone set. I decided to make one myself. Took an old lid from a potato salas, as it's nicer to work with plastic. 

Step 10: 
Using a 50:50 mix of miliput and play-doh and using the Greenstuff World Factory Rolling Pin it's no problem adding details. The 50:50 mix makes it easier to use the pin and it lowers the price on putty a lot!

Step 11: 
Let the putty dry completly before doing the other side. Or skip this step - you won't look at the buttom that often. I also added a floor to the crane (made the same way). Add some support to the platform with some plastic sprue.

Step 12:
Glue the entire thing together. The connections in on the sprue tower will look a bit messy (unless you really take your time with precise cuts). It's hid them with small square of plastic sheet, it also adds some bulk to the build.

Step 13: 
Add extra details to the build and paint it up. I've gone for a messy yellow and grey paint scheme.This is where those injection mold points are coming to their right, it'll bring out the drybrushing and adds point for the wash to pool up.


I've printed a lot of warning labels and 'danger stribes' on adhessive sticker. It's easy to add some details a lot over your own painting skill this way.

I've used super glue lids (had a couple after the build) for chemical cannisters. Also added some bolts (with lots of nuts) on the button of the build. Add some heavy weight and easily paints up as cannisters.


All done!